We start this weeks “Images of the Week” with a new piece on the street in Paris and we end the collection with many more inspired by the same events. A large number of artists took to the streets Friday night and yesterday to express grief and solidarity for 129 people killed Friday in Paris by terrorist attacks.
In addition to the outpouring of expressions and opinions on social, electronic and print media, it is good to see painting employed this way in the public space because it provides a common sense of our physical place, a location for people to meet and discuss and grieve together. “We were just folk that needed to get away from watching the news and met up on the train tracks,” one artist tells us.
Many of the pieces called up the Latin phrase that has been an unofficial motto of the city of Paris since the mid fourteenth century Fluctuat nec mergitur (Classical Latin: flvctvat·nec·mergitvr) which is translated today to mean “Tossed by the waves but not sinking (or sunk)”. In the coming days we hope that this continues to be true, but also that the shock and pain of such events do not lead to a cycle of violence and inaccurate generalizations, as presumably the actions were intended to provoke. Even in these difficult times it is important that cooler heads prevail.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those families and friends who are in such utter pain because of these atrocious acts as well as others who are suffering because of war throughout the world.
Our personal thanks to BSA Facebook fans and friends who helped us find these new images; Susanna Allende, Jérémy Berjon, Jul Ben, Ona Sis, Yogesh Saini, Matthieu Ribo, Gaëlle Boscolo, Sylvie Arrondo, Mike Lambert, and Meli Venegas.
Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Alex McNett, Bifido, Caserta, City Rabbit, Dasic Fernandez, Espion, Gaia, Gregory Gentois, Grim Team Crew, JCorp, Kai, Kashink, KLOPS, Mint & Serf, Moamed Abla, Moze (ODC Collective), Myth, Nepo, Pawn Price, POI, Shepard Fairey.
Top image above >>> MOZE in Paris (photo © Moze ODC Collective)
KAI (photo © Jame Rojo)
Bifido in Caserta, Italy. (photo © Bifido)
Gaia in Jersey City, NJ. Portrait of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange and a portrait of a man intended to represent the Lenape people native to the Delaware river watershed, Ackingsah-sack Wetlands, Lower Hudson Valley and Long Island. (photo © Jame Rojo)
Shepard Fairey in Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jame Rojo)
He’s either lifting it… Heart (photo © Jame Rojo)
Kashink (photo © Jame Rojo)
Alex McNett (photo © Jame Rojo)
Dasic in Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jame Rojo)
What’s the chance of that happening? Myth (photo © Jame Rojo)
This guy seems to have a lot on his mind. City Rabbit (photo © Jame Rojo)
A 3D sculptural tag from Mint & Serf (photo © Jame Rojo)
Stairway to Graffiti heaven. (photo © Jame Rojo)
JCorp (photo © Jame Rojo)
OBEY . DZN (photo © Jame Rojo)
KLOPS (photo © Jame Rojo)
Let’s see, who’s here: Jimi Hendrix flanked by Steve Winwood and ? and then possibly Jerry Garcia, then Johnny Cash, John Lennon, and Bob Marley. No women. Pawn Price in Jersey City, NJ. (photo © Jame Rojo)
POI (photo © Jame Rojo)
NEPO (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Kashink in Paris. (photo © Rory Kavanagh)
Grim Team Crew. Place de la Concorde, Paris. (photo © Sylvie Arredondo)
Grim Team Crew in Paris. (photo © Gregory Gentois)
Espion in Montreal, Canada. (photo © Espion)
Artist Unknown. Paris. (photo © Us Of Paris)
This art wall was created Saturday morning at Khan Market in New Delhi by visiting Egyptian artist Mohamed Abla as part of a Delhi Street Art collaboration. New Delhi, India. @delhistart (photo © Yogesh Saini)
Untitled. Manhattan, NYC. November 2015. (photo © Jaime Rojo)